The drive train or driveline of a utility or off road vehicle may experience overload torque which can result in failure of drive train or driveline components. For example, if the vehicle is airborne so that the front and/or rear wheels leave the ground, an overload torque condition may occur when the vehicle's wheels come back into contact with the ground.
In the past, some utility or off road vehicles have included overload couplings that protect the rear drive train from an overload torque condition. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,997,043 and 7,204,337 relate to overload couplings that disengage when torque exceeds a predetermined value so that the torque does not damage the drive train or driveline. Other torque limiting mechanisms have been proposed for snowmobiles. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,578,759 relates to a torque limiting mechanism with friction plates having a friction surface which contacts another friction surface on reaction plates to limit the torque transferred into the drive train or driveline.
However, there is a need for a dual torque limiter that can protect the front as well as the rear wheel drive train or driveline when torque overload conditions occur.